ICTG welcomes a guest post from Madison, the founder of disasterkids4kids.com, an online forum for kids to share safely experiences after being affected by a natural disaster.

Hi, my name is Madison.

Now, I bet at least some of you know about the Tea-Fire that happened in Santa Barbara, CA, on November 13 of 2008. Our house got unlucky and got burnt down. We lived on Conejo Road and I still remember that day like it was yesterday. It all started after dinner (I had mac-n-cheese). I went over to our big window overlooking the canyon. I saw a little fire-colored speck and said, “Look Daddy, there is a fire!” My dad looked at where I was pointing and said, “It is just headlights Madison. Relax.” I said, “No, it IS a fire.” After watching the speck grow for a while more, and my dad eventually agreed and decided to pack up.

We had two cats and still have them to this day. They were really helpful and stayed close, sensing something was up as we hurried to pack up and leave. My emotions at this time were fear, worry, and tons of other emotions. But mostly fear for us, me, my brother, my dad and my cats, and worry for my mother, she was driving home from work. While my dad packed our bags and cleaned up my one-year-old brother, I stood with my favorite stuffed animal, hoping that we would be ok. Then my mom got home and kept packing while my dad got the cats packed up and ready to go. The fire was really close now, I was terrified. Eventually, my mom, brother and I, left in one car while my dad stayed to pack up some last-minute stuff and the cats. He later informed us that he left so close to the fire, he could feel the heat coming off it. Luckily, my father is ok, but my mother’s wedding dress and photos were not so lucky, they got burnt down with everything else we had left behind.

The thing I remember really clearly, but isn’t that important is this: After the fire, before we found out if our house had burnt down or not, I drew two pictures, one of our house before the fire (In perfect repair) and the other of our house after that fire (A heap of rubble). Later that day, a police came and told us our house had burnt down. My dad went and looked for salvageable stuff and he found a fence we had finished painting the day before the fire, perfectly well and in great condition. It now surrounds our new front yard. He found a few other odds and ends, but he didn’t find the thing he had been looking for, his stone guacamole maker. Later, I was allowed to go to where our old house was and guess what I found? My dad’s guacamole maker! That was crazy. Out of anything I could have found, I found the one thing my dad hadn’t found, but had been looking for.

I hope you all enjoyed my starter story. Enjoy!

Madison invites kids who have experienced natural disasters to share their stories in the online forum on the disasterkids4kids website, so they can learn from one another about best ways to heal and grow after trauma. Kids can safely register, browse discussion groups, add posts. Emails and other personal information are never shared. Kids, and parents, can also find useful links to helpful disaster response organizations, too.